Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the forthcoming trial of Israa al-Ghomgham in that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are monitoring closely the case of Israa al-Ghomgham and other political activists. We continue to raise our concerns on human rights with the Saudi authorities in private.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes in diplomatic relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia on the Government's relationship with those countries.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and officials have been in touch with both Governments to express our concern over the dispute and its potential implications. We have and will continue to urge restraint and de-escalation through the appropriate diplomatic channels.
The Government continues to promote human rights across the Middle East, both bilaterally and with key international partners such as Canada. The UK frequently expresses concerns on human rights issues to Saudi Arabia at the most senior levels. We can only bring about the changes we would like to see by working with countries. We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns, and we make this point very clearly in public and in private.
The UK is a close partner to both Canada and Saudi Arabia and enjoys positive and constructive diplomatic relations with both countries. It is in the UK’s interest that we have both public and private conversations on matters of mutual concern.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support his Canadian counterpart in promoting human rights across the Middle East.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and officials have been in touch with both Governments to express our concern over the dispute and its potential implications. We have and will continue to urge restraint and de-escalation through the appropriate diplomatic channels.
The Government continues to promote human rights across the Middle East, both bilaterally and with key international partners such as Canada. The UK frequently expresses concerns on human rights issues to Saudi Arabia at the most senior levels. We can only bring about the changes we would like to see by working with countries. We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns, and we make this point very clearly in public and in private.
The UK is a close partner to both Canada and Saudi Arabia and enjoys positive and constructive diplomatic relations with both countries. It is in the UK’s interest that we have both public and private conversations on matters of mutual concern.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart on trade relations between that country and Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Foreign Secretary and officials have been in touch with both Governments to express our concern over the dispute and its potential implications. We have and will continue to urge restraint and de-escalation through the appropriate diplomatic channels.
The Government continues to promote human rights across the Middle East, both bilaterally and with key international partners such as Canada. The UK frequently expresses concerns on human rights issues to Saudi Arabia at the most senior levels. We can only bring about the changes we would like to see by working with countries. We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns, and we make this point very clearly in public and in private.
The UK is a close partner to both Canada and Saudi Arabia and enjoys positive and constructive diplomatic relations with both countries. It is in the UK’s interest that we have both public and private conversations on matters of mutual concern.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterpart in Saudi Arabia on the flow of humanitarian aid through Hodeidah port.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are in constant contact with the Coalition about the campaign in Yemen, as part of our diplomatic effort to find a solution which brings political stability to Yemen and ends cross-border threats to Yemen's neighbours. On Hodeidah, we have set out clearly international concerns on the importance of maintaining the flow of humanitarian supplies. I discussed this with my Saudi counterpart over the weekend. The Coalition have made clear that they recognise the humanitarian imperative and are prioritising the humanitarian response.
We are now doing everything we can to work with the UN, non-governmental organisations and the Coalition to respond to humanitarian needs in the days ahead.
We continue to urge all parties to facilitate access for essential imports of food, fuel and medical supplies into the country including through Hodeidah port.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in the Hodeidah region in Yemen; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
It is crucial that humanitarian and commercial imports continue to flow through Hodeidah and Saleef ports, which service the vast majority of Yemen's food needs. We urge all parties to facilitate access for essential imports of food, fuel and medical supplies into the country including through Hodeidah port. As in all aspects of the conflict, all parties must respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on human rights of the actions of the Iranian government during the protests that took place in that country from 28 December 2017.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Iranian people should be able to freely express themselves and to demonstrate peacefully within the law. We look to the Iranian authorities to permit this. We are concerned by reports of mass arrests and deaths in custody, and by restrictions on freedom of expression, in particular the suspension of popular messaging application, Telegram.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department took in response to the restrictions placed by the Iranian Government on the instant messaging service Telegram; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
On 11 January, the Foreign Secretary discussed Iran's response to the protests with Foreign Minister Zarif. In addition, on 5 January, we supported the proposal to discuss the protests at the UN Security Council where we set out our human rights concerns strongly.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the protests in that country that began on 28 December 2017.
Answered by Alistair Burt
On 11 January, the Foreign Secretary discussed Iran's response to the recent protests with Foreign Minister Zarif. He underlined the point he had made in his January statement, emphasising in particular that there should be a meaningful debate about the issues protestors were raising and that international obligations on human rights should be observed.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Government of Bahrain on the treatment of women in Bahrain's Isa Town Women's Prison.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Government monitors events in Bahrain closely. We regularly raise human rights concerns with the Bahraini authorities in private and public and will continue to do so. Where we have concerns on specific cases we raise these at an appropriately senior level. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.
We encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to report these to the relevant human rights oversight bodies.